späte

Späte is a form of the German adjective spät, meaning late or belated. In standard German, late as a time descriptor is inflected to agree with the noun it modifies. Späte appears in attributive position when the noun has a definite article or when the determiner requires a particular adjective ending, and also in some strong inflection contexts without an article.

Usage and forms:

- With a definite article: die späte Stunde, die späten Stunden; der späte Mann; das späte Kind. In these phrases, the ending -e or -en reflects the gender and number of the noun and the definite article.

- With an indefinite article or no article (strong inflection): eine späte Stunde, späte Stunden, später Termin (note: the comparative form is spät→später, used for time expressions).

- Common phrases include die späte Nacht (the late night) and späte Jahre (late years).

Grammatical note:

- Späte is the feminine singular form in nominative and accusative, and the plural form in many bare or definite contexts. Other gender/number combinations use corresponding inflected variants such as spätes, späten, späten etc., depending on article and case.

- The comparative form of spät is später; the superlative is späteste (with appropriate endings: der späteste Termin, die späteste Stunde, die spätesten Jahre).

Etymology and scope:

- Späte is derived from the core adjective spät. It is primarily a descriptive term for time and events, indicating that something occurs later than expected or desired. It does not carry a separate lexical meaning beyond its relation to time.

Other uses:

- In surname form, Späte may appear as a capitalized proper name in German-speaking contexts, though this article focuses on the adjective form and its grammatical behavior.